UNSOLICITED

They contacted you. You don’t know where the contact originated and because spoofing email addresses and phone numbers is easy, they can claim anything they want and it’s difficult for you to dispute it. What you don’t know CAN hurt you!

UNEXPECTED

It may look like the legitimate email or Caller ID of someone you know but if that person is emailing you a picture of their new dog, is that something this person would do? A generic message that lacks anything that sounds personal or familiar even from a casual acquaintance is suspicious.

UNVERIFIED

To avoid cynicism the notion of “trust but verify” applies here. Ask for their name and the name of the company and tell them you’re going to go to the website and contact the company. In the verification stage, NEVER use the contact info they provide. Google it or call a trusted friend for help. The same applies if it looks like a friend, reach out to them from your personal contact info, DO NOT reply to the email.

UNSAFE

DO NOT ACT on ANYTHING or provide ANY INFORMATION to a contact that is NOT reliably verified. Until you have properly verified a contact, don’t even confirm information about you they offer. Anything you say can and will be used against you. If they haven’t already hung on you when you asked for their name and company info, you can politely tell them you don’t act on any unsolicited contact and will get back to them once you’ve been able to verify their information.

UNCOMFORTABLE

This is not part of the rule but a fifth U that’s a good guideline. In any unsolicited contact, it may sound legitimate at first but trust your gut. The minute it starts to feel even slightly uncomfortable, STOP and jump to the verification step. The most crucial red flag is if the conversation turns to money in any way, not just if they are asking for some sort of payment.